Mums the word:

11 April 2017

How well do you Know Mums?

Last week, we hosted a working breakfast to discuss how brands can evolve the way they are connecting with parents through marketing and PR. Co-hosted by Telegraph journalist and influencer Alice Judge-Talbot, we brought together a great mix of marketing professionals to discuss the challenges they face, share stories (good and bad!) and hear from an ex-marketer (and mum) herself on why it’s so vital brands get it right when speaking to parents.

For those who couldn’t join us, here’s some of our key highlights from the discussion:

Get the conversation started organically with influencers and bloggers

With forums like Mumsnet, Netmums, Baby Centre, Made for Mums and more, it’s much easier for brands to join the conversation organically through bloggers and influencers. Not only can you get in front of your target audience, but it also serves as a brilliant and trusted space to research and learn more about the needs of mums and dads, and what matters most to them.

Connect with influencers who genuinely connect with your brand

Guest Alex and Alexa spoke passionately about working with influencers demonstrating how it saves them resource and organically drives traffic and sales to the website via social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook. You’ll get the benefit of customers seeing your products being used in real life, with real mums - not just another staged photoshoot of mother and baby. This also helps to bolster brand transparency. If mums can see that influencers are honestly supporting your products because they believe in your brand, they’re more likely to engage and encourage other mums to as well through word of mouth.

Don’t be afraid to switch up conventions

There are so many varieties of families in the UK today, so don’t limit your brand or alienate your customer by sticking with conventional norms of marketing and branding to mums backed by simplistic assumptions and generic insights. Whether it’s running a campaign with boys dressed in more traditionally feminine clothes, or encouraging girls to try their hand in the pit lane crew at KidZania, don’t be afraid to switch up conventions and get a fresh, real conversation going among parents and their kids.

Mix it up in order to be more inclusive

It can be difficult for brands to avoid polarisation and run marketing campaigns that capture the essence and identity of mums across the UK, from London to more rural areas. Our PR Director Gem recommended mixing aspirational and down to earth content. This way, you’re covering your bases across a variety of identities and demographics. While it may be nearly impossible to be 100% inclusive 100% of the time, building your brand and messaging with a diverse group of mums in mind will help you to create genuine campaigns that connect with parents on a deeper and more real level.

But above all, keep it simple

Some of the main challenges we discussed were prioritising messaging, finding a clear focus and then identifying the medium that will be most effective. Instagram works perfectly for children’s fashion, but for a product that’s not visual, or requires further explanation, a blog or interview with an expert can help you explore a more educational route without overwhelming your audience.

Don’t sell mums short. They are smart, savvy, efficient consumers who require the same marketing from brands if a real connection is to be made. And equally importantly don’t forget dad!

If you’d like to discuss anything you see here, don’t hesitate to drop us a line at hello@mercieca.co.uk